


Family Bonds and Breaking Ties

by BlueDarknessIceHeart



Series: The Beat of Moth's Wings [8]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Authority Figures, Deadlock Gang, Discussion of Children, Established Relationship, F/M, Family Dynamics, Injury Recovery, Loss of Limbs, Permanent Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-27
Updated: 2017-11-27
Packaged: 2019-02-07 17:14:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,214
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12845757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueDarknessIceHeart/pseuds/BlueDarknessIceHeart
Summary: Jesse had grown on her over the years, she and Gabriel nearly raising the scrappy teenager into someone semi-decent - well, semi-decent for someone in Blackwatch. Except Deadlock won't let anything get out of their grip easily, and the shadows curled within Blackwatch start to show as plans go sideways just as quickly as they're made.Her comms link cracked to life in her ear "What-""Jesse was in that building!"She could still see the smoke curling out of the rubble.She caught sight of Gabriel moving too, holstering his guns and hurtling forwards - Mercy gliding up behind him and hitting the ground running.





	1. Mother's Vow

Admete held a dirt and blood spattered Jesse McCree close, one arm wrapped around him and the other still out - her grip on Atropos knuckle-white and trained on where she knew the Deadlock members were crouched for cover. 

"Reyes now would be _fantastic!_ " she forced herself to keep the fear that she felt lapping its way up her spine from leaking into her voice as she shouted over comms - tried to carefully pull Jesse towards cover. 

She tucked the both of them into one of the creaking, sparking, train cars. Jesse cracked an eye open, blood smeared down his face, and Admete kept an eye on the opening to the car. 

"You're gonna be fine, kid, just try to stay awake." 

"Ma'am yes ma'am." the words nearly slurred together as head lolled to the side before he regained focus. 

The small explosion outside of the car had her back on her feet, the flick of her wrist and a light shimmer around her body had her out of sight, and Admete was nearly sprinting to get into the middle of the remnants of the Deadlock members that had gotten in the middle of their work. 

There was something faint from Ana, directed more towards Gabriel, as she dove out of the train car that still managed to steel her nerves just the slightest bit, that made her grip on both Atropos shotguns a bit easier. 

The shots that rang out when she broke her stealth barely resonated, didn't truly click until she was going for McCree's hat in the middle of the road, and Gabriel where he was - an outright mess like the rest of them. She stepped carefully over bodies with now marred faces, over piles of gore on the dirt. 

The look she gave Gabriel as she picked up Jesse's hat, the poor thing riddled with bullets and caked in blood and dirt in the front, was one of worry. Ana dropped down from a roof, all-out sprinting to get to them and giving a small wave to the two of them as she went by. 

Admete followed, gripping Jesse's hat tight to her as she followed. She gave Ana just enough room to work, Gabriel right behind her, as they watched their medic carefully swipe grime and drying blood from McCree's already swelling face and carefully stitch the wound. 

"I've got one of the emitters, since I was rushed with no details and a few bullets - should fix him up though." 

"We'll use it in the ship, we need to take our shit and go. Here, kid, your hat." Admete gently settled it, backwards, onto his head and he gave a still loopy smile. 

"Alright, we're going up." Gabriel snorted, hooking an arm around the incredibly limp teenager and hoisting him up. 

Admete walked behind with Ana, the feeling that gnawed at her as she watched Gabriel practically carry a limp noodle version of their teenaged deadeye not abating on their way to the drop ship. 

"He's just a kid, Ana. He was younger than we were - it's not right. He shouldn't be taking bullets and knives and whatever else we come across. He shouldn't be hunted down by a gang that thought him dead because of us." the sadness that tinged her voice didn't go unnoticed. 

"He made his choice, Admete, you can't protect him forever." 

"Watch me." 

Admete felt something in her draw itself up in the way she did herself - the straightnening of shoulders and the upward tilt of her chin. 

She disliked any of her people getting hurt, but over the two years McCree had spent with Blackwatch she'd taken to him with a near maternal instinct after their initial poor start. 

And now here she was, jogging to catch up to Gabriel and split the weight of the nineteen year old between them - the look the two of them shared one that was recognizable despite the strange mix of emotions to it. 

Admete didn't mind McCree practically sprawling into her lap on the drop ship. She made a neat little nest of blankets, tucked the two of them into it, and settled there for the ride back to HQ. 

She would keep Jesse out of Deadlock's reach if it killed her - she really didn't want to imagine just how badly that situation could run. 

Gabriel's sigh yanked her from her train of thought as he wriggled into the blankets behind her, and she gave a small nod. 

"No more Deadlock for the kid." rumbled from behind her as a forehead rested atop the crown of her own. 

"Agreed." 

"Even I agree." Ana chimed in from the front, and Admete gave a simple thumbs up.


	2. The Life and Times of Missing Arms

Admete didn't hesitate before she was sprinting, flinging herself over fallen crates and ducking under stray wires. 

Her comms link cracked to life in her ear "What-" 

"Jesse was in that building!" 

She could still see the smoke curling out of the rubble. 

She caught sight of Gabriel moving too, holstering his guns and hurtling forwards - Mercy gliding up behind him and hitting the ground running. 

Admete flicked her wrist, the faintly glowing mechanism on her right arm clicking into place within her gauntlet and the three of them vanished from sight. 

She got there first, skittering across bloodied rubble to kneel over McCree - barely consicous and she lifted his head into her lap, tearing a clean scrap from his shirt to staunch the flow of blood from his arm. 

"You're gonna be okay, Jesse - you're gonna be fine. Just try to stay awake, okay? Keep those eyes open for me, I know it's hard but you gotta." She couldn't keep the panic out of her voice, but managed to not draw her gun on Reyes, the very clear "Jesus Christ" coming from behind her. 

Admete moved her hands, let Angela kneel to do her work amidst the rubble - settled to just running her hands through Jesse's mop of hair and humming to try and keep him still. 

And that's when she saw her own trip mine, clearly used, among the rubble. 

"Gabriel, do you see that?" 

She nodded with her head, and he grabbed it. 

"This is-" 

"But it's not. I haven't been in this building, and all of mine are set to not go off on Blackwatch or Overwatch members." 

It was painfully silent, until Angela spoke.

"I need to get him to Medbay before I can do anything more than this." 

"You got it, Doctor." Admete tried to offer a smile, but her chest hurt too much for it to work properly. 

Between the two leaders of Blackwatch, Jesse was safely back in their ship with all of them and tucked into Medbay in headquarters. 

Where Admete was now pacing outside of, gnawing her fingers until they bled when a familiar blonde haired man showed up. 

"What kind of stunt were you trying to pull?" 

She stopped mid step, head snapping towards Jack. 

"Excuse me?" she didn't want to do this here, didn't want to do this while her agent, her practical _kid_ was having the remaining part of his arm sewn up until they could fashion a proper prosthetic. 

"With your tr-" 

"That wasn't mine and you fucking know it, Morrison. Unlike you, I actually care about my agents." she could feel tears in her eyes, never wanted to cry in front of Jack Morrison - Head Jackass of Overwatch, but here she was; venom in her voice and tears streaking down her cheeks as she pressed into his space, a clearly gnawed finger in his face, _yelling_ in the middle of the complex. 

"You know goddamn fucking _well_ I'd take a bullet for any of my agents, but especially Jesse. That boy is practically my _son!_ So you can take all of your accusations and shove them up your bleached, boy scout ass before you _dare_ come here while my kid might still not make it because you refuse to acknowledge your shit isn't as great as you think it is." 

She stepped back, drew herself up, hazel eyes meeting blue and locking. 

"Lieutenant -" 

"Go on, _Commander._ Say those pretty words like they're going to save you from this one." 

She knew all eyes were on them, and then Reinhardt was there scooping her up and shouting his apologies for her, for Jesse, for Gabe. 

Morrison left amidst it all - and she was left alone after mere minutes with the thought of only _Please god let Jesse be okay._

Winston cleared her tech, which meant someone had created something exactly like hers. 

She'd spent most of her time caring for Jesse - was the primary one keeping him from being an _idiot_ even while missing half an arm. 

"How're ya feelin'?" 

"Well, about a few pounds lighter." 

She gave a snort, and he grinned. 

"When did you last _shower_ , Jesus kid" 

"I don't know how to do this shit with one hand, Reina." he sounded tired and her heart ached. 

"Have you asked Gabe or Angela?" she arched a brow. 

"I'm not showering with them if that's what ya mean." 

"No, but I'm quite sure you wouldn't turn Angela down. Gabe's had a good number of injuries, Angela is your _doctor,_ dumbass. If anything you can sit in a bath and I'll wash your damn hair, you look gross." she sighed, rubbing the back of her neck under a mess of pulled back curls. 

Jesse was quiet before shrugging. "Aight. I mean, you've seen my guts 'n all so can't be much worse." 

"I'll go get your shit from your room." 

Jesse tipped his head back and she prodded his head back forwards. "You're getting water on me, you lil shit." 

"How do y'know how to do this?" 

Admete sighed, cupping her hand over his face to guard his eyes from the water as she rinsed out his hair. "Gabe's had a good number of nasty fuckin' injuries, so you just get good at being a second set of hands. Plus, I amazingly know how to wash my own hair." 

Jesse waited until water wasn't running down his face to speak again. "Doesn't mean you're not doin' the same stuff a mom would do for her kid almost." 

"Jesse you're practically my kid, the fuck are you on about - lean forwards." 

"Aight mom."


	3. Recovery

She was disgustingly antsy - having been confined to their room for a handful of days and told she wasn't allowed to roam around without being aided was the closest thing to torture she could get within the base. 

She'd been given updates on Jesse, the prothestic taking just as well as it could and him finally caving at letting Angela help him out.

It was too quiet for too long, her mind having been running in circles and trailing out to hazy fantasies of the life they should have had. 

"What do you think our kids would look like?" 

Her voice was raspy from a lack of use, breaking the silence in the room between her and Gabriel. 

Admete could see him jolt, just the slightest amount, from the corner of her eye. 

"Uh- That's -" 

"I mean, they'd definitely have curly hair. Probably brown eyes, because the hazel isn't going to suddenly contribute more green to your brown eyes than it did mine." 

She was rambling, knew it too. Yet she'd been stuck on a train of thought while confined to a room and told to get better with stitches across her stomach from the gunshot she'd taken instead of Gabriel, the small hope that they'd run out the last of Deadlock still something she held on to despite the gauze alone making any passing agent flinch. 

Gabriel had been gone for a week, maybe a little more. Had left her to Reinhardt and Angela, Jack sticking his head in only once for her to throw the nearby vase at his head, Jesse still mostly trapped to a bed of his own, and now he was here and her racing mind and the lack of sleep had allowed her to wander to the silly ideal fantasies of the neat life they both so desperately wished for outside of this. 

A house, no UN to handle, a couple of kids. 

Jesse, uninjured and without any hint of Deadlock ever doing damage she couldn't uncoil from him. 

Gabriel's hand curled around hers, fingers interlocking. The touch suddenly bringing her out of her thoughts. 

"I imagine they'd look a little more like you, their mother's face. You've got much nicer features than I do." 

"Don't sell yourself short, you've got a very, very nice face Gabe." 

The smile that she wore brought one to his own face as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. 

It was quiet again, before she mumbled something into his shoulder. 

The questioning noise had her lifting her head to repeat herself. 

"Two." 

"Two kids?" 

"No, two McNuggets. Yes, two kids." she snorted as he gently swatted her arm. 

She let herself be settled back onto the bed, curled around to keep her still. 

"I think two is a perfect number." 

There was a beat, before she gave a small laugh despite the twinge of pain it sent through her. "It'd be three, with Jesse." 

His smile only had hers growing. "That it would."

**Author's Note:**

> I've got these three little one offs that are generally connected and centered around Admete's motherly and protective side towards the cowboy nerd that is McCree being super prominent, so here we go.


End file.
